NASA plans to assign lunar delivery missions to SpaceX and Blue Origin in order to prepare for long-term exploration of the Moon with the Artemis campaign.
The agency aims to award both companies with additional work under their existing contracts to create landers that will deliver large pieces of equipment and infrastructure to the lunar surface, according to a press release published on November 19, 2024.
These missions will require the two companies to develop cargo versions of their crewed human landing systems, which are currently being developed for Artemis III, Artemis IV, and Artemis V missions.
“The Artemis campaign is a collaborative effort with international and industry partners,” said Stephen D. Creech, Assistant Deputy Associate Administrator for Technical, Moon to Mars Program Office. “Having two lunar lander providers with different approaches for crew and cargo landing capability provides mission flexibility while ensuring a regular cadence of Moon landings for continued discovery and scientific opportunity.”
NASA is planning at least two delivery missions with large cargo, the press release continued. The company has assigned SpaceX to send a pressurized rover and Blue Origin to deliver a lunar habitat.
SpaceX’s Starship cargo lander will deliver the pressurized rover, which can be operated remotely. The rover is currently being developed by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and is expected to land on the Moon no earlier than the fiscal year of 2032. It will assist with Artemis VII and later NASA missions. Blue Origin is also expected to deliver to the lunar surface habitat no earlier than the fiscal year 2033.
According to NASA, the Artemis campaign aims to explore more of the Moon than ever before, learn how to live and work in space, and prepare for future Mars missions.
NASA announced in March 2019 that it would send astronauts back to the Moon through the Artemis missions. In November 2022, Artemis I completed the first flight test of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System rocket.
The upcoming Artemis II mission, which is scheduled for September 2025, will take four astronauts to the Moon. The Artemis II crew is currently training for their mission around the Moon on a lunar flyby.